Yet another product of the Southampton conveyor belt of young talent, Arsène
Wenger's £11 million summer signing has huge potential

Imagine what it has been like for Calum Chambers this past few weeks. First he signs for Arsenal in a big-money move that catapults him into the spotlight, with all the expectations and pressure that come attached.

Soon after, the defender turns out at Wembley in the Community Shield before making his home debut and first Champions League outing in quick succession. All this, by the way, at centre-half having made his name at Southampton as a right-back.

Not only that, Chambers excelled in these games, showing great composure, taking responsibility to mark him out as a possible England player in the not-too-distant future.

The whirlwind continued on Saturday in the Premier League when the 19-year-old paired up with Per Mertesacker for the first time to try and tame Everton’s attack, the one that had run riot in this fixture last season.

And almost inevitably for one so inexperienced, the runaway start to Chambers’ Arsenal career noticeably slowed down in a first half dominated by the home side.

With the visitors struggling to come to terms with the same ploy Everton used last term – Romelu Lukaku on the right and Steven Naismith withdrawn as ‘a false No 9’ – Chambers, often left with no-one to mark, found himself getting dragged into some awkward positions.

This resulted in a couple of early fouls, the first of which actually forced Steven Pienaar to be withdrawn after Chambers climbed high and caught his opponent in the back. Shortly afterwards, Kevin Mirallas was brought down via an accidental collision before sprinting in behind Chambers to very nearly score.

It was a period in the game that would have taught the lad a lot in terms of positioning and decision-making. That was certainly the case for Everton’s second goal after Lukaku turned Mertesacker in Everton’s half.

Chambers charged across to try and intervene but betrayed his inexperience by diving in on the halfway line to let Lukaku skip clear and set up Naismith.

An older head, of course, might have stayed on his feet to simply jockey rather than commit. But it was the kind of mistake that comes with the territory. A look at the DVD this week should right the wrong, especially as Chambers is said to be a bright, intelligent young man whose mature attitude has impressed everyone at Arsenal.

That aspect of his character, in fact, shone through as this match wore on. Rather than retreating into his shell to take the easy option, Chambers stood up to the challenge with some encouraging results.

If he was annoyed to get booked for tackling Naismith on the touchline, he retained his poise to pick out Aaron Ramsey with the sort of astute pass that marks him out as a very good footballer; even more pleasing for Chambers that this piece of progressive play began the move for Arsenal’s late equaliser.

You also have to place this performance into proper context. Chambers lined up next to a partner in Mertesacker who clearly isn’t fully fit after returning to training only a fortnight ago. The rustiness of the big German’s game certainly didn’t help someone so new to Arsenal’s set-up.

And understandably, Arsène Wenger has tried to temper the enthusiasm for his signing’s early impact, stressing that Chambers has a long way to go in his development. That said, Southampton’s prolific academy system has given the player a head-start. The Saints must take a great deal of credit for rearing yet another player of such skill and substance.

As a result, Chambers already looks the part in an Arsenal shirt. Better on the ball than both Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, he gives Wenger a useful option in central defence as well as supplying an alternative to Mathieu Debuchy at right-back. A holding role in midfield could be on the cards too.

That reported £11 million fee, rising to £16 million on appearances, originally seemed a little steep for one so untried. But after only four games it looks like money well spent.